I painted this from a photo I took a few years ago, when traveling southwest from Grants, NM. I had fun working with dark greens: Perylene green (mixed with other greens) works well for dark evergreens, especially pine trees. It can be darkened with its opposite, Perylene maroon or dark blues. Other greens that were useful were Maimeri Blu Hooker's Green and Green Gold, and Schminke Desert Green, one of my favorites. The sandstone cliff is stained with desert varnish an effect of weathering. I painted this scene on Daler-Rowney Langford paper, which has a slightly rough texture.
Hi Susan, I like your overall use of colors. An overall grayish tone they in my opinion reflects the atmosphere of that kind of landscape quite well. It is a pleasant painting to look at. 👍